Does the Image Matter: Photo on LinkedIn ?
In my last post, I talked about growing weeds or flowers, today I would like to stay on the gardening topic and focus your attention on the two seed packets at the left.
One of my favorite places to buy plants and seeds is Red’s Market. I also buy my seeds there. For years, they had only the seed packets at the left, generic, one-size-fits-all, packets. I bought them but always with a bit of a sigh.
Didn’t the seeds grow? Yes, but given the choice, I would always pick the packet at the right with the picture on it, even if I had to pay a little more.
The Image Sells
Psychologically, I am pushed to the image. I can visualize the radishes growing in my garden, popping their red orbs out of the ground. I can see the salad I made with fresh radishes as one of the ingredients or a veggie plate with radishes perking up the celery and carrot array.
Many years ago, I helped a client who was a consultant select the new manager of a small business. Even back then, he had stacks of resumes for the retail management position. He had already culled through them. My job was to create the thank yous for the individuals who didn’t make the cut and create the notice letters for those who would get the next interview.
He gave me all the resumes submitted for the position. Some were on notebook paper with coffee stains, some were typed but in need of formatting to make them stand out, and a very few were well-written resumes in compelling formats that demonstrated the value of the candidate and made you want to read on.
Image sells: Include your photo on LinkedIn
Did the ones on coffee-stained notebook paper have the qualities to manage? Maybe, but at first glance, it didn’t seem so. Packaging is everything. In the career industry, we (resume writers) are selling the client. Yes, my client is the product! My role is to market that client in a light that makes the employer or hiring manager grab that resume and give it a second look.
In a market where people are getting 100s and 1000s of resumes for even the most basic position, you have to stand out. If you write your own resume, make sure you are creating a document that will captivate your reader and sell your value. The same concept goes for LinkedIn. Remember to add your photo on LinkedIn and set it to public.
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Julie,
This question always makes me uneasy! Leading a values-driven life, I WANT to believe image doesn’t count, but I know from my years of business experience that it does.
Funnily, I’m writing a guest post for a friend who’s also a stylist and image consultant. My wardrobe morphed as I changed from doing more corporate facing work, to doing more social media driven work, and I struggled with the question in so far as it related to what you wear and look like.
The place I got to is that it’s entirely keeping with who I am and what I stand for that I dress in a certain way. That gives me congruence. So what I put out is who I am on the inside. If that makes sense?!?
.-= Christine Livingston´s last blog ..What Employers Need To Know Now =-.
Exactly, while I do wear jeans in the office even with clients (who are often also in jeans even as corporate people), whether I have face-to-face clients or virtual ones, I get dressed to shoes with hair and make-up daily.
For me that fits how I like to see me and makes me ready for the day. A long time ago, I was with Mary Kay very briefly and what stuck was the get dressed to shoes and look like you were going to a meeting or work every day. It doesn’t mean a power suit but it does mean looking well groomed because psychologically it has an effect on how we work.
Did you see you are now on my sidebar link area too? 🙂
I’m way too casual and probably project an eccentric or slacker sort of image. But, I still can’t imagine submitting a resume with coffee stains on it.
.-= Kim Woodbridge´s last blog ..3 Ways to Exclude Pages from the WordPress Navigation Bar =-.
You are also really fast! Thanks for the logo switch and the adjustment on the Sexy bookmarks.
I think that if you needed a resume, Kim, it would be as professional as everything else you do.
By the way, forgot to say, great work on the look and feel of the blog, guys 🙂
.-= Danny Brown´s last blog ..The Five Unwritten Rules of Guest Posting on Blogs =-.
Thank you, Danny! Kim knows that she is in charge of plug-ins, updates, and code issues. I can manage lots of things with Headway (it’s easy) but I let her deal with these things. She is the expert in WordPress… and more.
I once worked at a creative company where the junior executives pay was six figures. Everybody wore jeans to work, with tee shirts and running shoes or sandals making up the rest of the package. People went unshaven for days, and we basically looked like the scruffiest bunch of hooligans you’ve ever seen.
The client projects we worked on also came in at a minimum of six figures, and this was just for a three month project. You can imagine what year-long campaigns cost…
When we went out to relax on a Friday evening after a week laughing and working well together, we’d always go to bars where city slickers hung out. We laughed inwardly as you saw them looking down at us and thinking we were out of place, even though we probably made more and billed more than the majority of them.
These people that I worked with were, and continue to be, some of the smartest folks I know, and ever will.
The sad thing is, most companies looking for smarts and creative brilliance would probably pass them by, because their look didn’t fit.
Sadly we live in a society where presentation is everything – why else would someone like Megan Fox be able to charge millions for movie appearances?
But as my friends from that old company show, appearances can be deceptive. And it’s us that miss out in the long run…
Thanks for a questioning post, Julie – have a great weekend! 🙂
.-= Danny Brown´s last blog ..7 Ways to Market Your Business on Facebook – Free Ebook =-.
Amazing, Danny! Thank for the detailed and fun comment. There are many successful companies who have had a climate much like you describe and their employees were bright and creative.
You have a great weekend too, Danny! and I will see you on Twitter!